


The Wider Web

by Keenir



Category: iZombie (TV)
Genre: ...so I'll just tie up loose ends, ...with a fic that refuses to cooperate, Coda, Coda to Maternity Liv, Gen, Two - 3? - weeks is long enough to wait, Zombie Judicial System
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-20
Updated: 2015-05-20
Packaged: 2018-03-25 09:33:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3805486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Keenir/pseuds/Keenir
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Liv comes clean to her boss, and Lowell is arrested for good reason.  (also deals with the rats)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**INTEROFFICE COMMUNICATION:**

_**There is a matter which requires your lethality and promptness.  We have been made aware of unsanctioned experiments within your morgue, and our desire is to alert you so you may put an end to them.  We would prefer not to request arbitration from higher up, not for this.** _

_**In the other matter, however, we fully endorse the use of arbitration and extermination.** _

_**Good day, Lieutenant.** _

* * *

Lieutenant Suzuki, head of Homocide in the department, took a deep breath after reading that message, then folded it lengthwise once, and placed it in his lunch.  There were advantages to hot dogs, an unobtrusiveness to them, as one example.   _'Your desire' is no such thing; you'd be perfectly happy watching my demise.  The fact you're giving me a heads-up can only mean that... safety hazard.  Damn._

_And 'the other matter' is a set of leads that all lead to MeatCute.  The fact that Lilywhite and one of my detectives are getting close to there, means I can't put this off any longer.  Lilywhite's at the stage where he's a danger now, and would be moreso if anyone told him anything.  Babinoux needs an ultimatum._

He rose from his chair.  _Time to see what sort of safety hazard I'm dealing with this time_ , and made his way to the morgue.

* * *

**INTEROFFICE COMMUNICATION:**

_**The hazard has been removed.  Thank you for sharing the information.** _

_**As to the other matter, I have sent for arbitration myself.  Our guest will be an unbiasable.** _

* * *

Liv did not take it as a good sign that she received a text message requesting her presence in the office of Lieutenant Suzuki as soon as she arrived at work.

"Your rodents have been removed from department grounds," the lieutenant was saying to Ravi when Liv knocked once and slid into the office.  "Good morning; have a seat," and Liv did.

"Did I miss much?" Liv asked.  _I know I'm two minutes late, but old habits...pretty definitely sure these are mine._

"Your boss thought he could keep pets in an area set aside for the storage and investigation of the dead."

"So, that's a no, then," Liv said. 

"You knew?" Lieutenant Suzuki asked her mildly.

"They aren't pets."

"Research, then?"

"Umm..."

"Into what?"

"A rare disease," Ravi said, "which strikes all ages and social strata, and can -"

"Your precious 'Zombies,'" he interrupted Ravi.  "Or rather, a disease which would convince your prior employers that you were in fact right."

Ravi said a very bad word - under his breath - in what Liv was pretty sure was Cornish.  Then, "Laugh all you like, sir, but the threat -"

"Was engineered by you."

Ravi blinked.  "Excuse me?"

"When I walked into the morgue, fully half of your surviving rodents were on the floor, heading for pipes and doorways."  _Fortunately, that number was a small one, easily handled._   "If your animals were carrying anything infectious, tell me what would have happened when they encountered a civilian, doctor."

"But their cages were -"

"Insufficient to hold rodents," the lieutenant said.  "To say nothing of how they were unauthorized.  And yes, I checked with my superiors, as well as with your old bosses back at the Centers for Disease Control."  He paused, looking down at Ravi from behind that desk.  "So tell me why I shouldn't have you charged with anything from reckless endangerment, to the creation of a bioweapon."

* * *

_Dodged a bullet there, even if its the end of a line of inquiry,_ Liv contemplated as she brought a bowl of chips out for her brother, Major, Ravi, and Peyton.  The movie they'd all gathered for, would play - _with 'minimal commercial interuptions' -_ following this round of X Games trials.

"Hey, this' your buddy, isn't it?" Evan asked, pointing to the tv.

Peyton looked at Major and then at Liv, as if to ask 'and when were you going to tell me?'

Liv looked over at the tv, and saw her fellow zombie on the screen.  _Skiing?_ and the onscreen text all supported that conclusion.

Evan added, "Max Rager's been supporting more and more stuff, from X Games to things you've probably never heard of."

Peyton nodded.  "They're definitely cornering the market."

"Wanna bet?" Liv replied, but she frowned:  _Wait a minute.  Adrenaline nearly made him a public safety hazard on a stage...so what's he doing on an extreme sports ticket?  It can't just be 'well they sell my music'...because, well, because..._ and took another five minutes to finish that thought, as her current ingested brain kept spiking images and conversations to her.

* * *

"You wanted to see me?" he asked Liv as he strode into the morgue like he wasn't worried about ending up on one of the slabs.

_Not like I considered it. Noooo,_ Liv thought. "Did you lie to me?" she asked him.

"Can you be a bit less vague? Not that I'm saying I lied, but open-ended questions like that, I really don't like them."

"Your rage-out onstage. Kinda curious that its triggered there and in an airplane, but not on a ski slope."

"Ah. That."

"Yes, 'ah that'. And?"

"Raging actually makes me ski faster. Something about an increase in mass. And with the area below the finish line cordoned off with first aid tends and the like - all donated by Max Rager - I can recover without anyone looking twice."

"And the rats?" Liv asked.

"I didn't eat them," he said.

"Did you squeal on Ravi?" Liv clarified.

"You ever think about applying for work elsewhere? I mean a morgue's clearly great for snacks. But wouldn't you like to work someplace that appreciated you more?"

"Appreciated...? I'm asking you if you blew the whistle on my friend."

"My boss was very interested to hear about Ravi's labwork," he said.

"And why would you tell..." Liv started to ask, and the pieces fell into place: the Rager employees who went mad, attacked people, or died ( _all three?)_ over there...the destroying of footage that might have shown one of Rager's employees in zombie rage mode...

"The look on your face suggests you don't want to join me at Max Rager," he said, disappointed.

"Nope. Got all my job satisfaction right here," Liv said.

He shrugged.

"Besides, I don't want to spy on people."

"Nah, I do that enough for the both of us. They'd understand."

"Did you let the rats out?" Liv asked.

"I didn't need to - rats are good at escaping on their own. I may've soured the results with a bit of my own hair dropped in the cages," and shrugged like it didn't matter.

"You should know," Liv thought to inform him, "that we're not alone down here."

He looked at her.

"Besides the bodies," Liv said.

He shrugged. "Go for it - get a cop in here, or your boss. What exactly will you say? That I confessed to being what we are? And how would that go down? Besides the fact that your boss already knows, and is pretty enamoured of our kind."

"Oh, better than you think. See, I don't need to call for a cop, and definitely not for my boss."

"Then...?"


	2. Chapter 2

EARLIER:

"Come in."

Cracking the door open a bit, Liv stuck her head inside. "Hi, Lieutenant, I was wondering -"

"Have a seat," Lt. Suzuki told her. "And shut the door."

Liv complied.

"Now suppose you tell me what brings you to my office, when everyone else is changing shifts," Suzuki said.

"It's about why I applied for work here," Liv said, "and quit my job at the hospital.  There was this party, you see -"

"Thank you."

"I haven't told you -"

"I know what happened at the lake," Suzuki said.  "Just as I know how well you've kept your secret."

Liv wasn't sure what to say.

"I was wondering when you were going to step up," the Lieutenant said.

"And become a z-"

"No. When you were going to tell me. I thought you were going to take a year at least."

"Huh. So, this isn't a surprise to you?" Liv asked. And the proverbial lightbulb went off: "How many people like me have you seen?"

"That's a discussion for another time, Miss Moore. For now, rest assured I see one every time I look in the mirror."

"Wait...you're one?" _Well, Lowell did tell me that we can dye our hair...but the Captain's - wow._

He gave a small smile, before settling back down to business: "Was that all you needed, or are you in my office on business?"

"Actually, this is perfect," Liv said. "See, I needed a hand with something, and you - this - perfect."

"I can point you to a dining zone, but there's a lot I can't do."

"Oh no no no nononooo," she said, backpedalling from his misunderstanding. "I'm fine on...food. See, its like this..." and explained what was going on.

* * *

"You wanted to see me?" he asked Liv as he strode into the morgue like he wasn't worried about ending up on one of the slabs.

 _Not like I considered it. Noooo,_ Liv thought. "Did you lie to me?" she asked him.

"Can you be a bit less vague? Not that I'm saying I lied, but open-ended questions like that, I really don't like them."

"Your rage-out onstage. Kinda curious that its triggered there and in an airplane, but not on a ski slope."

"Ah. That."

"Yes, 'ah that'. And?"

"Raging actually makes me ski faster. Something about an increase in mass. And with the area below the finish line cordoned off with first aid tends and the like - all donated by Max Rager - I can recover without anyone looking twice."

"And the rats?" Liv asked.

"I didn't eat them," he said.

"Did you squeal on Ravi?" Liv clarified.

"You ever think about applying for work elsewhere? I mean a morgue's clearly great for snacks. But wouldn't you like to work someplace that appreciated you more?"

"Appreciated...? I'm asking you if you blew the whistle on my friend."

"My boss was very interested to hear about Ravi's labwork," he said.

"And why would you tell..." Liv started to ask, and the pieces fell into place: the Rager employees who went mad, attacked people, or died ( _all three?)_ over there...the destroying of footage that might have shown one of Rager's employees in zombie rage mode...

"The look on your face suggests you don't want to join me at Max Rager," he said, disappointed.

"Nope. Got all my job satisfaction right here," Liv said.

He shrugged.

"Besides, I don't want to spy on people."

"Nah, I do that enough for the both of us. They'd understand."

"Did you let the rats out?" Liv asked.

"I didn't need to - rats are good at escaping on their own. I may've soured the results with a bit of my own hair dropped in the cages," and shrugged like it didn't matter.

"You should know," Liv thought to inform him, "that we're not alone down here."

He looked at her.

"Besides the bodies," Liv said.

He shrugged. "Go for it - get a cop in here, or your boss. What exactly will you say? That I confessed to being what we are? And how would that go down? Besides the fact that your boss already knows, and is pretty enamoured of our kind."

"Oh, better than you think. See, I don't need to call for a cop, and definitely not for my boss."

"Then...?"

"I heard your confession just now," Lt. Suzuki said, stepping into sight. "You're under arrest."

"I don't think so," he said.

"Please tell me you're going to put up a fight."

"Oh yeah," he said, and went into Full Zombie Rage, with the red eyes, paled skin, darkened veins, and charged at the Lieutenant. It was over in barely five steps, with him well-gripped and thus in custody.

Liv was pretty sure she knew which part of him had made the _pop_ ping sound. It was the _sloshing_ sound that she didn't care to ask after.

The Captain was talking to him: "You have the right to remain silent and calmed. If you cause a panic, you are forfeit. Any lesser outburst you make, will be deducted from you after judgement has been levied against you. You can request a feeder. If you do not anoint a feeder, one will be given your remains, should your loss be final."  _The Advocacy will be very proud of Olivia Moore; and one day, perhaps soon, she will know about the governing body of zombikind, and the threats our own kind pose to our survival._

As he - _de-raged? unredded? great, now I want to know what its called when we stop being in Full Zombie Rage -_ and seemed to hunch over and get an itty bit smaller, Liv thought, _Cool. We have our own Miranda rights. Wait...feeder? Levied? Anoint?_ And she said none of that; simply watched the Lt. walk him away.

Entirely too shortly-thereafter for Liv's sense of timing, Ravi and Major and Clive walked into the morgue shortly thereafter. "Was that...?" Ravi asked, not sure how to phrase it.

"One of the suspects from the parachuting investigation," Clive said. "Yeah, he was. What was he and our boss doing down here?" he asked Liv.

She looked at the three of them. Weighed the option of telling them the truth, and shot that down right away. Then weighed the option of giving a tall tale, a line of utter bullshit that was shot down because she knew all three of them would see right through it - _and please let the metaphors get less disgusting_. Then, "Sorry, Detective, but I'm not at liberty to discuss the case with you."

One of Clive's eyebrows soared up, but he didn't comment.

"So," Liv said, clapping her hands together, "who here's hungry?"

"I am!" Ravi said.

"Me too," Major said.

"I'm in," Clive said. "You're not making a chili pepper pizza, are you?"

"Ha ha, Detective," Liv said, "no. I'm taking the four of us out for pizza." _And tonight...me, a Romero flick, and a bowl of moo goo gai pan brains._

* * *


End file.
